Behind the Ice Curtains: When professional photographer Shawn Malone of Marquette made her way out to the famed “ice curtains” in the caves on Grand Island, Michigan, a few years ago, she walked across the frozen East Channel from Sand Point at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. She was well aware of the hazards in the 1-mile trek across even though it was believed to be solid ice at the time. “It’s deceptive; it looks a lot shorter than it is,” she says. It’s important to use extreme caution, she adds, because “you wouldn’t know you’re on open water until it’s too late.”
Shawn made spectacular shots of the ice caves that winter, but every year is different and, this winter, conditions in the channel and on Munising Bay have proved far more unstable and dangerous.
Last Saturday, four snowmobilers broke through the ice near Grand Island’s East Channel Lighthouse. They were able to pull themselves out of the water and get to the island without injury, and the Alger County Sheriff’s Department’s rescue unit used a hovercraft to pick them up and bring them to Munising, where they were treated by emergency medical personnel, TV-6 WLUC reported.
“I would like to notify anyone going into the ice on Munising Bay that the ice conditions near Grand Island are dangerous,” Alger County Sheriff Todd Brock posted on Facebook.
The caves on Grand Island are known for producing amazing ice formations that attract sightseers and ice climbers, but officials at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore say crossing the water is never recommended, even if the ice appears solid. The park advises sightseers view the island’s ice curtains from across the water on Sand Point. Stay off Lake Superior, they warn. Dr. Kathy Reynolds, executive director of the Alger County Chamber of Commerce, points out that there is no licensed transport to the island from Munising in winter, unlike in summer. The ice from the mainland to Grand Island “is not monitored and it could be very dangerous.”
Meanwhile in Wisconsin, the most recognized “ice caves” on the mainland of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore remain closed because of poor ice conditions. An update by the park staff on Facebook Thursday reported that its ice rescue team had found most of the caves “surrounded by unstable pack ice – the team could hear waves under the ice and creaking from movement.” The caves, which lie east of Meyers Beach near Cornucopia, are not accessible.
Accessing the ice caves and ice curtains has always been iffy, and most years, the Big Lake just doesn’t settle into winter long enough to make its partially frozen waters safe. Still, you can always enjoy images of spectacular ice thanks to knowledgeable local photographers like Shawn in Michigan (top); Christian Dalbec in Minnesota (top right); James Smedley in Ontario (center right) and Michael DeWitt in Wisconsin (bottom right).
Worth Their Weight in Gold: As you check in with the Olympic activities in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from time to time over the next two weeks, there will be competitors with local connections to follow.
As always for the winter games, the Big Lake neighborhood is well represented in the sport of curling. Of the 10 athletes who qualified for the U.S. curling teams, six are from the region. Team USA and members of USA Curling are seen in this photo from Team Shuster’s Facebook page. (NBC did Q&A interviews or short biographies with the U.S. curlers, to which we are linking here.) John Shuster, skip for the men’s team, was born in Chisholm, Minnesota, and now hails from Superior, Wisconsin. He’s the first U.S. men’s curler to make a fourth Olympic team (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018) and his team took bronze in 2006. Other regionally tied men’s team members are John Landsteiner, Tyler George and alternative Joe Polo, all of Duluth. On the women’s curling team, regional members are Aileen Geving of Duluth (whose dad started her curling at age 10) and alternative Cory Christensen, also of Duluth.
Participating as a coach for Team Canada’s curlers is Thunder Bay’s Rick Lang, who helped to lead the Canadian curling team to gold in Sochi (2014), reports CBC News Thunder Bay.
On the U.S. women’s hockey team, two players have regional ties through residence or education and have bios up on the TeamUSA website. Maddie Rooney, a Duluth native, and Sidney Morin both attended the University of Minnesota Duluth.
For Team Canada, in women’s hockey, Haley Irwin, a native of Thunder Bay and collegiate player on the UMD hockey team, is participating in her third Olympics, having won gold with Team Canada in Vancouver (2010) and Sochi (2014).
U.S. snowboarder Nick Baumgartner was born and lives in Iron River, Michigan, and has been to the Olympics three times – in 2010 (Sochi, Russia), 2014 (Turin, Italy) and this year in South Korea. Ski jumper Nita Englund was born in Mountain Iron, Michigan.
U.S. biatholon competitor Joanne Firesteel Reid, born in Madison and living in Colorado, is the daughter of 1980 Olympic Bronze medal speed skater Beth (Heiden) Reid and Russell Reid, a former mathematical sciences professor at Michigan Technological University. She got her middle name from the Firesteel River flowing into Lake Superior in Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula. Her uncle, by the way, is Eric Heiden, five-time Olympic gold medalist in speed skating.
(Did we miss an athlete with local ties? Let us know at edit@lakesuperior.com and we’ll update our online list.)
Do the Curl Then: Did you ever think curling would be the subject for rap? Cheetos did, and in between the Olympic competition action, you might catch a peek at another Northlander in the new Cheetos commercial. Chris Plys (on the far right in photo), a native Duluthian, hangs out with singer/dancer Toderick Hall and football players Vernon Davis and LaDainian Tomlinson as Toderick teaches everyone “The Curl.” (It’s great, except it could use a few “pretty goods” and “OK thens” thrown in there.) The icing on the sheet (it's a curling thing)? Cheetos released a limited edition flavor: Winter White Cheddar Curls. Plys has been making a name for himself and his sport, with Red Bull featuring him in a story by Ryan Taylor titled, “How Cool Can Curling Get? Meet Chris Plys.” Ryan writes: “When you meet Plys for the first time you’ll notice his athletic build. That’s because curling is both mentally and physically demanding. In fact, it’s so physically demanding that it landed him a shot in ESPN’s prestigious 2010 ‘Body Issue.’” It’s a fine story, though we gotta say, we don’t really think of Duluth as “a small town alongside Lake Superior and it’s known for three things: fierce winters, ice hockey, and curling – in fact it’s so popular for curling, that folks relocate to the city just for the sport.” Just so you know, we like to think of ourselves as a “small city.”
Finally, if you really want to look cool, let everyone know that yes, you’ve seen the video of the “Baby Olympics.”
Honoring the Speedsters: Organizers of the International 500 Snowmobile Race in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, announced during events last weekend that the city will soon host an I-500 hall of fame, reports Nick Nolan of the Soo Evening News. Announcement of the Legends Around the Mile Hall of Fame and Museum came with announcement of the first inductees, Dan Planck, Otis Cowles and Leonard Cowles – all three were winners in the first event 50 years ago. The search is on for a permanent building, but for now the museum will grow up in a 54-foot trailer donated by 1994 I-500 champion Ivan Hansen.
A Chain of Lynx? A Cuddle of Cats?: Wildlife photographer Thomas J. Spence considers encountering this gathering of lynx mom and four kits near Tofte, Minnesota, among the most amazing moments in his photographic career. It started when Thomas was looking for a moose to shoot (photographically speaking) and caught sight of the one lynx, which he now realizes was the mom. Soon one kit wandered up to cuddle, then another and another. The full family didn’t seem to mind the paparazzi experience, snuggling and calm in Thomas’ presence. The photos brought attention from a number of news outlets, including the Duluth News Tribune, MPR and KBJR6. You can see Thomas’ 11-image photo album on his Facebook page. Readers of Lake Superior Magazine have seen Thomas’ images on our pages, too.
The Secret Life of a Snowflake: Dennis O’Hara, another photographic contributor to Lake Superior Magazine, also made the news recently when Darren Danielson of WDIO/WIRT did a story about Dennis’ passion for making photos of individual snowflakes. The video peeks over Dennis’ shoulder as he gets down to the microscopic level for the best snowflake pictures. Dennis has done a series of photography lessons for us online. Find them by searching his name on our website.
Way Better Than Snowmen: TV6 covered the winners of the Michigan Tech Winter Carnival snow sculpting contest: “Myths and Tales of the Past in Our Frigid Forecast.” For the second time in three years, the station reports, Tau Kappa Epsilon took first place in the monthlong statue division with its entry “Behold a Frozen Thor, Mighty God of Viking Lore” (in photo above).
On a Magic Carpet Ride: Four-year-old Trey Scollie of Thunder Bay seems a natural on the new magic carpet installed this year at Mount Baldy Ski Area. That’s hardly a surprise; his grandfather Bill started the Ski Haus downhill alpine shop in town in 1963 and it’s been a family-owned business since then. Trey’s dad, Steve, now runs the shop, and he says he wouldn’t be surprised if Trey becomes the third-generation owner, given his passion for skiing. “He loves it. He wants to go every day.” With Mt. Baldy having south-facing slopes, it makes it easier to glide comfortably on our recent frigid snaps, says Steve. The magic carpet is a sort of conveyor belt for skiers and snowboarders. Mt. Baldy changed ownership in 2016 to three Kardas brothers, Kristoff, Daniel and Jason, whose father, Slaveomir “Slav” Kardas, was a two-time Olympic ski jumper. Yet another Thunder Bay family of snow lovers.
Wisconsin Dog Life: Bayfield, Wisconsin, author and dogsledder Julie Buckles was featured in an audio postcard by Superior-based WPR reporter Danielle Kaeding for a Wisconsin Life segment. Julie, a contributor also to Lake Superior Magazine and director of communications at Northland College, chatted about how she got into racing, taking on adoption of Popeye. “I almost never give dogs away. Once they’re here, they’re just part of our lives.” Julie adds, “Dogsledding is a 0 to 50 (mph) sport … when you’re out, this is all you’re thinking about.”
Cutting Ice, Way South: Marquette maritime author Fred Stonehouse posted a gCaptain.com story by Mike Schuler about the U.S. Coast Guard’s heavy ice cutter, the 40-year-old Polar Star, experiencing flooding and engine failure on its way to a mission to break 10-foot-thick ice in support of the National Science Foundation work in Antarctica. “Although both issues were resolved without need of additional help,” Mike reported, “the incidents highlight the growing need for the U.S. Coast Guard to modernize its icebreaking capacity.” The Polar Star and its sister ship, USCG Cutter Polar Sea (both in photo at top at the McMurdo Research Station), are among the Guard’s most powerful non-nuclear vessels. A USCG press release Tuesday announced the successful completion of the cutter’s mission despite the two problems and posts videos and photos of the work (as seen above). Similar issues about a need for more heavy ice cutters have been raised by the Great Lakes maritime industry, asking whether there are enough to keep traffic moving through those shoulder seasons of early winter and early spring. Full maritime activity will not renew on the Great Lakes until the Soo Locks open once again March 25. The USCG cutter Alder, based in Duluth, worked to keep both the Thunder Bay and Duluth-Superior ports open just before the locks closed Jan. 15. The Mackinaw, the most powerful Great Lakes cutter, is seen ice breaking in this USCG video.
Speaking of Lake Rescues … Some fellows from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula worked to rescue an injured bald eagle on the Lake Superior ice, MLive reports. Chris Storm noticed the bird while plowing out a Munising business parking lot. The Chocolay Raptor Center arrived and took the eagle for help. “It’s a bald eagle,” one rescuer, Dan Nedeau, is quoted. “It would be un-American to do nothing. This is America. Plus, we all love nature here at work, so it wasn't even a question."
Photo & graphic credits: Shawn Malone; Christian Dalbec; James Smedley; Michael DeWitt; Team Shuster; Cheetos; International 500 Snowmobile Race; Thomas Spence; Dennis O’Hara; TV6; Ski Haus; Charly Ray; USGC.